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and southern parts of the country, and between ethnic minorities attempting to establish social acceptance will maintaining their own ethnic and cultural identities. The distinct lines between many of those differences have become blurred, thanks in part to education, social and cultural integrations, and because of increased media exposure to different aspects of those cultural differences through music, film, television, dance and personal interactions.

Communicating across cultural differences is also necessary because culturally diverse people are now immigrating into new geographical areas because of work, educational opportunities, and the chance to live a better quality of life.

Elements of Communication

Many of the same elements of effective communication that are essential when communicating between individuals within the same culture become increasingly more important when communicating with people of different cultures.

These elements include:

-Visual or non-verbal communication may include facial expressions, eye contact and eye movement, posture, hand and facial gestures, and head and body movements. Abrupt and Sudden movements may also be interpreted differently from one culture to another.

-Tactile communication includes certain touching gestures such as a handshake, a hug, or a kiss.

- Vocal communication includes more than just speaking words. It also includes the use of vocal tone, voice inflection, pitch, and projection.

Also, it is not impolite to ask when in doubt. People never mind sharing different aspects of their culture, and it's much better to experience a moment of learning than one of embarrassment. Many people across cultural boundaries share the same hopes, dreams, love of family, and professional aspirations as we do. Many of our differences are simply based on lack of knowledge about our differences.

Learn more about this author, Terry Marsh.
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